Attorney General Paxton’s claim distorts both history and constitutional principle. While the Ten Commandments in the Bible are part of the religious heritage of many, America’s legal and civic foundation rests not on a single faith tradition but on Enlightenment ideas, English common law, and a deliberate commitment to religious liberty.
Many of the framers themselves descended from those who fled religious persecution in Europe. From this history, they understood that a republic could only survive if it safeguarded freedom of conscience against state-imposed faith—an understanding that was ultimately enshrined in the First Amendment’s guarantee that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
In drafting the Constitution, the framers explicitly rejected the establishment of any religion as the basis for government, ensuring that all faiths—and those with none—could belong equally. To insist, as Paxton does, that the Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of American law is to erase the pluralism that has defined this country from the start and to undermine the very protections of the First Amendment. It is, in effect, a rewriting of history that asks the public to ignore the evidence before their very eyes.
This is why the third lawsuit filed against the Ten Commandments classroom display law is so significant. As Austin American-Statesman education reporter Keri Heath documents, fifteen families representing a variety of faith backgrounds—including Christian, Jewish, Lutheran, and nonreligious—have joined together to challenge Senate Bill 10 in federal court. Their action underscores that Paxton’s directive is not only constitutionally dubious but also deeply out of step with the diverse religious and civic traditions that make up Texas and the nation.
-Angela Valenzuela
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| A third lawsuit has been filed against school districts over a new state law requiring the placement of the Ten Commandments in school classrooms. / Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman |
A group of families on Monday filed a third lawsuit against a batch of school districts over a law requiring the placement of the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms. The 14 school districts, which include Georgetown and Comal, are among several dozen that have been sued over the law since Gov. Greg Abbott signed it in June.
The lawsuit also comes about a month after Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a memo to superintendents reinforcing that districts should display posters depicting the 10 Commandments, despite a federal judge temporarily blocking the law for a handful of districts.
The lawsuit also includes the Conroe, Flour Bluff, Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Northwest, Azle, Rockwall, Lovejoy, Mansfield and McAllen school districts. All of the districts listed in the lawsuit either received or already posted donated posters depicting the Ten Commandments, according to the lawsuit.
The new lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Western District Court of Texas by 15 families of students in the named districts. The families are of a variety of faith backgrounds, including Christian, Jewish, Lutheran and nonreligious, according to the lawsuit.
“I address questions about God and faith with great care, and I emphatically reject the notion that the state would do this for me,” said Rev. Kristin Klade, a Lutheran pastor who lives in Fort Worth.
Authored by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, Senate Bill 10 requires that school districts post any donated copies of a specific version of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
The lawsuit filed Monday is the third sparked by SB 10. In June, parents brought a lawsuit against three districts and the Texas Education Agency. In July, additional families brought a lawsuit against 11 other districts.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the law for the 11 districts last month, prompting Paxton to issue instructions directing every other district in the state to abide by SB 10.
“From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral, and historical heritage,” Paxton said in a statement when he issued the directive.
That July lawsuit included the Lake Travis and Dripping Springs districts. The Austin school district was eventually dismissed from the case as long as it adhered to any injunction the court placed.
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